Saving the Gashlycrumb Tinies
by reincarnatedcrazybutterfly
Summary: ON HOLD.Four years after the war, Draco and Hermione are now working as Aurors and bitter rivals. Now a series of disturbing murders of young unsuspecting teenagers has the wizarding world in panic that only their team up could solve. How will that work?
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I don't own HP and Gashlycrumb Tinies._

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**AN: Inspired by Edward Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies. **

**I recommend checking this out before reading this fic. Check my profile for the link. Enjoy!**

**Warning: This is rated T for mild language and violent deaths. I'm sure the kids of today can handle the atrociousness of the killings. But if you find this story too disturbing, leave me a message and I'll change the rating. Thanks!**

_**I'm not really sure how many 'tinies' I'll be killing.**_

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**Summary to Gashlycrumb Tinies:**

Dramione. Four years after the war with Voldemort, Draco and Hermione are now working at the ministry as Aurors and bitter rivals. Now a series of disturbing murders of young unsuspecting teenagers has the wizarding world in panic. Will they finally settle their dispute and team up to stop the murderer? Or will they end up as 'additional' victims themselves?

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**Preface**

_In the dark alleyways of Godric's Hollow, a hooded figure lurks in the distance… not far from the suspect, a view of a young wizard, fair skinned with curly sandy hair was writing a letter in the comforts of his lounger as seen from the window._

_Our suspect licks his lips from excitement of doing in his seventh victim._

_His spine tingled and adrenaline was pouring over him. __**"It is time."**__ He muttered to himself in an eerily shrill voice. _

_In a flash, the suspect whipped out his wand and pointed. __**"Wingardium leviosa!"**_

_Peering through the glass window, the suspect grinned even more as he saw the quill the boy was holding suddenly 'slipped' from his hands and drop to the floor._

_The boy stood up and bent over to retrieve his quill but it kept on rolling until finally it went under the massive Moroccan rug, farther and farther under it with the boy left with no choice as his wand was left on the table, unable to summon it, crawled under the rug reaching for the quill until only his feet were sticking out from the rug._

Unbeknownst to him, the felon outside was almost jumping with joy as his perfect plan was coming to life.

"_**Perfect."**__ He hissed. Then he muttered another spell that made the rug hard as lead, suddenly crashing heavily on the innocent boy._

_The boy struggled and thrashed frantically under the rug probably gasping for air._

_After a few moments, the boy stood still._

_Flushed with adrenaline from his success, the murderer removed the charm on the rug, making it an ordinary fabric heavy rug and made a pensieve of what occurred and placed it inside a tiny glass vial and into his bewitched small satchel._

_Before apparating from the scene of the crime, the triumphant killer whispered to himself:_

_**G is for George smothered under a rug.**_

Then with a loud pop his high pitched cackle lingered in the air only to be drowned in the screams of young George Quimbley's parents at the sight of their young fifteen year old's demise.

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**AN: Creepy, isn't it? Short as it is, it's just a preface with promise of more to come. If you like what you read, do leave a review. Suggestions, rants and raves are very, very much well received and appreciated. Thanks!**

**- Margaux**


	2. Chapter 1: Friction

Disclaimer: I don't own HP and Gashlycrumb Tinies.

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_Flushed with adrenaline from his success, the murderer made a pensieve of what occurred and placed it inside a tiny glass vial and into his bewitched small satchel._

_Before apparating from the scene of the crime, the triumphant killer whispered to himself:_

_**G is for George smothered under a rug.**_

Then with a loud pop his high pitched cackle lingered in the air only to be drowned in the screams of young George Quimbley's parents at the sight of their young fifteen year old's demise.

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**Chapter 1: Friction**

In the Ministry of Magic, the new minister, Porthos Gray held a secret meeting with the aurors. Adjusting his fine pointed hat that bore the seal of the ministry, probably buying time and calming himself, he heaved a sigh and touched the crease on his wearied head.

Around him the room was filled with chatter about the most recent murder – George Quimbley's. Conspiracy theories and others fenced back and forth from the aurors. Then silence enveloped the room as a streak of blond, and a bounce of curly brown hair was spotted entering the hall from opposite directions.

The audience watched as the two top aurors of present times took their place across from each other on the table nearest the pedestal of the minister.

The two latecomers, one a striking blond with cool silver eyes wearing a forest green robe and his signature smirk was Draco Malfoy, son of the late Lucius Malfoy, and Narcissa Black Malfoy. He was young, handsome, rich and very intelligent and cunning. Stealth and astuteness, not too mention, his knowledge of the dark arts worked to his advantage.

Across him, looking indignantly, the other one, possessing long dark soft curls and chocolate brown eyes, wearing a red robe, swept the room with her observant eyes was Hermione Granger, a muggle-born. She was, like the former, a young twenty-one year old, beautiful, equally intelligent, witty, courageous and outspoken. Her mousetrap fast mind, astounding knowledge of both the muggle world and the wizard world were part of her artillery.

Not one to waste time, the minister rose from his seat and began the meeting. There was no need to call for order anymore.

"A pleasant evening to all of you, dear aurors, if you could call this evening pleasant at all." He said with authority then his eyes narrowed and he spoke grimly. "I am certain that all of you have heard about the demise of young George Quimbley."

The deep voice of a black enigmatic man suddenly spoke up, "Minister, is his death connected to that of the other six?"

"Ah. Well, Mr. Kingsley, I am not that sure as well but the timing – one-week apart killings – it's too hard to dismiss. If I'm not mistaken, were you the one assigned to Ms. Amy Sullen's case?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt nodded. "Yes."

"Again, if I'm not mistaken, that her case was reopened?"

"It has recently come to my attention, though I don't really understand sir as why there is a need too. Her death was that of an accident. She fell down a flight of stairs. How could there be a connection other than her age?"

The minister sighed then spoke again, "Yes. No one can doubt that such an event could be ruled out as an accident. But falling down a stairs as a cause of death is hardly believable. Possible, yes, but the probability is slim. Regardless, a pattern could be established starting from Ms. Sullen's death."

"First, would be the weekly intervals of the killings."

"Second would be the age of the victims which were all seventeen."

"And lastly, all deaths are passed off as 'accidental' thus foul play is hard to prove."

Nods, frowns and loud banters thundered through the room except for two who were sitting calmly on their chairs, taking in every information.

"Silence!" The minister ordered and the room fell silent once again. "I called everyone in here to be aware of the situation and aid as much as you can but there are other cases to clean up that we can't put off. So I am fairly glad that our top two aurors are here to grace us with their presence."

He then looked at the two in front of him, "Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger, I will assign this case to you two."

Draco Malfoy rose and slammed his hand on the table in rage, "That's preposterous! Why should I work with _her?_ I can take on this case myself."

Hermione Granger rose as well but remained calm, "I too detest working with _him_. _I_ can work alone."

The minister threw his hands in the air, "Work together, or alone, it doesn't matter! I want you two on the case and I want the murderer in Azkaban as soon as possible. Do whatever means necessary. I just want the bloody bastard's head."

The two sat down silently and nodded in obedience.

"All of you may go but you two come with me. Meeting adjourned." The minister bellowed.

The two rivals followed the minister to his office and sat on the chairs in front of the minister's huge mahogany desk.

"What do you have so far, minister?" Draco asked in a polite tone.

"For starters, here is the list of the victims. There are seven in all." Porthos said and produced a list, which both Draco and Hermione scanned carefully.

"Is this alphabetically arranged…"? Hermione asked as she read the list thoroughly.

The old minister shook his head. "It's listed in the order of…occurrences…"

Hermione nodded, "I see."

"So he kills alphabetically, then?" Draco muttered to himself.

"The names are somewhat familiar, I just can't put my finger on it…" Hermione mused to herself as well.

"Where did the killings take place?" Draco glanced up in question to the minister.

The minister tapped the parchment lightly and the date, place and cause of death of the victims appeared adjacent to their names.

"All over Europe…well that narrows down the scope… a bit…" he wrinkled his nose.

Hermione silently read the names again in her mind…

_Amy Sullen, May 9, 2008, England. Fell of a stairs._

_Basil Fairweather, May 16, 2008, Scotland. Assaulted by bears._

_Clara Clearwater, May 23, 2008, Paris. Wasted away._

_Desmond Rockbottom, May 30, 2009, Greenland. Fell of a sleigh._

_Ernest Lightwing, June 6, 2008, Naples. Choked on a peach._

_Fanny Rogers, June 13, 2008, Poland. Sucked dry by a leech._

_George Quimbley, June 20, 2008, Godric's Hollow. Smothered under a rug._

"All deaths does seem accidental and explainable by natural causes…" Hermione remarked. "Why does all this seem familiar? Hmmm…"

"The death description has a lyrical feel to it…sucked dry by a leech? Aren't these killings… natural for muggles?" Draco quipped.

"The killings do rhyme, I never noticed that before." Porthos said astounded.

"The seventh… smothered under a rug? I suppose the next one would die from something that rhymes with 'rug'?" Draco trailed off.

The minister nodded and his forehead crinkled, "Rhymes with 'rug'? 'Jug'… 'mug'… 'hug'…hmmm…"

Draco snorted, "How could someone die from a_ hug_?" He said gruffly.

"I don't see you coming up with anything," The minister muttered and continued with the guessing… "How about 'slug'?"

Draco heaved a deep breath, "At this point anything would be possible considering the 'accidental' deaths… but 'mug'… could work… could the next victim get 'mugged'?"

"Wasted away… fell of a sleigh…" Hermione murmured then like lightning she gasped. Draco's and Porthos's eyes darted to her.

"What is it?" Draco demanded.

"Do you read muggle literature?" Hermione asked quizzically.

"Not much, why is there a relation?" Porthos asked curiously.

"How about you?" Hermione looked at Draco skeptically. Draco shook his head. "I thought as much." She grumbled.

"Well… seeing as the names are alphabetical… then the deaths formed a rhyming scheme… and children…no young adults are involved…" Hermione trailed off.

"Just tell us already!" Draco snapped at her, breaking off her reverie.

Hermione frowned and sighed, "You see there's an old children's book written and illustrated by a man named Edward Gorey, published in 1962 that was entitled, _Gashlycrumb Tinies. _Are you familiar with that?"

Both shook heads. "How is that related?" Draco said impatiently.

Hermione cocked a brow and sighed again, "It's an alphabet, sort of. You see it tells of the deaths of children in very simple yet unconventional matters. It's illustrated in black and white theme."

"So the book depicts death of children? That's ghastly! Muggles love _that_?" Draco said in disgust.

Hermione wrinkled her nose, "Yes. Sort of. Dark humor, I guess."

"So the deaths there…are they similar to what's happening?" Porthos asked eagerly.

"If I remember correctly… I've only seen it twice myself… well, the names, the first names anyway and the methods of death match those of the book exactly. I think I can borrow a copy from my Harry. He loves those."

"The story goes like, 'A is for Amy who fell down the stairs' and so on…"

"So all in all if we don't get to catch him, twenty-six deaths will occur?" Draco asked.

"Yes. So far seven has died so that leaves…"

"H. The eighth letter. Do you remember that line?" Draco finished.

Hermione scrunched up her face, "Give me a moment."

Then she opened her eyes, "H is for Hector done in by a thug'."

"Today is Wednesday… and the killings take place on Fridays so we only have two more days to go before the next killing." Draco said thoughtful but alarmed.

"But there are thousands of Hectors in Europe! Thousands of seventeen-year old Hectors to be precise! WE can't possibly guard them all!" Porthos exclaimed.

"Of course we can. Can't we put up charms or something on each one's homes? And not all of the thousands are wizards. All the victims are wizards." Hermione explained.

Draco nodded, "That slims it down again. _If _all the victims are natural European citizens."

Hermione blinked at Porthos, "_Are_ they?"

Porthos slumped on his seat, "Oh no. Alas, not all of them are. Some are witch and wizard tourists…"

"That makes this complicated then…" Draco sulked. Then he sighed dejectedly and looked at Hermione. "Granger, I don't like this idea at all but considering the urgency of the situation, we need to team up." He said with chagrin.

Hermione scowled but sighed also in defeat. "I guess we do…"

"Why don't we get that book first, Granger, and let's think about theories."

"Hm. Fine. Let's go to Harry's home then, _Malfoy_."

"Wait." The minister called.

"For this matter, this should be dealt with, _with extreme discretion_. I suggest posing as newlyweds on your honeymoon, touring Europe to avoid questions. Say you eloped or something. We don't know who to trust at the moment."

Draco and Hermione looked at him with disbelief and impalement. Both started to protest but the minister shut them up. "This is a direct order. You can either take it or leave the case. I'm sure Kingsley could do the job."

"_Fine!"_ They both yelled with disgust.

With a pop the top aurors apparated infront of Harry Potter's house.

Unbeknownst to them, the killer was already planning his next conquest…

Watch out little Hector. If you know what's best for you, you wouldn't go around sneaking out of your house so late at night alone.

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**AN: The killer obviously thought up an infallible plan. Will he strike again? And what of the supposedly, new 'honeymooners'? Will they get along or would things work to their disadvantage? Find out soon.**

**Margaux**


	3. Chapter 2: H is for Harry Potter

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"Fine!" They both yelled with disgust.

With a pop the top aurors apparated infront of Harry Potter's house.

Unbeknownst to them, the killer was already planning his next conquest…

Watch out little Hector. If you know what's best for you, you wouldn't go around sneaking out of your house so late at night alone.

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**Chapter 2: H is for Harry Potter.**

With a pop, Hermione and Draco apparated into Harry Potter's front door. He chose to stay in his late godfather's house, _12 Grimauld Place_.

Before the two entered, an old owl swooped in front of them and dropped a letter. Draco caught it. Draco and Hermione cringed as they read the envelope. It said:

_Mr. & Mrs. Draco Malfoy_

_Front Door_

_12 Grimauld Place_

"Is _this _what I think it is?" Draco said in pure aghast. Hermione, who was still wincing, shut her eyes and muttered her response, "Just read it and let's get this over with."

"I must say, I'm quite frightened to open this – _You do it!_" He handed the letter to Hermione who backed away immediately. "Not a chance. Come on, just do it already.

Draco sighed then quickly opened the lid and unfolded the parchment and grabbed the smaller and more elegant parchment that fell out. He scanned the letter quickly, then glanced at the smaller paper then back at the letter. He astonishingly repeated that action three times.

"What does it say?" Hermione asked though she had an idea of what it was based on Draco's reaction. _Oh please don't let it be what I think it is. _She thought.

Draco snapped up, frowned deeply and muttered softly, "Its official. My bachelor days are over."

"_What?" _Hermione almost shrieked, "You don't mean we're –"

He nodded glumly then shoved the parchments in Hermione's hands and she read and reread everything, looking at the paper in disbelief like Draco.

"He_ didn't!, _He wouldn't!" she gasped.

"He _did. _Face it."

The letter read:

_Dear Mr. & Mrs. Malfoy, _

This was my plan from the start. I knew that you wouldn't agree all too easily so the moment you agreed to pose as newlyweds, was the moment my plan took place. Because of your bickering you didn't notice that Kingsley snuck inside just in time to bear witness to your secret wedding. Now I know you'll hate me for this but I gave you a choice, believe it or not. Enclosed in this letter is your marriage certificate. It's all official. Do not worry, once everything is in order, I will mollify the wedding should you wish it.

_You as aurors should understand that I, as minister need to take every precaution necessary and seeing your… reluctance to play the parts I dictated, I believe you'll be working even more quickly to resolve this case as soon as possible._

_Good luck in your mission. _

_Sincerely, _

_Porthos Gray_

_Minister of Magic_

"Great. Just great. The two top aurors got hoodwinked by an old bat. Cherry on top of my evening." Hermione said acerbically.

Draco looked at Hermione in shock. _Did she just insult an official? No. Did GRANGER just insult an official? _

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Draco's puzzled face. He recovered quickly and sighed. "Guess we're stuck. He's right though, the faster we close this case, the faster we can get… _unmarried_."

"Ugh. Though I think that this is harder on _you _than on me, Malfoy." Hermione spat.

Draco flared up, "Just where are you getting at, Granger?"

She rolled her eyes, "Like you don't know." She muttered.

He folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes, "Listen, if you're thinking that I still hold my former… _prejudices_ against you, you guessed wrong. I've changed."

Hermione sniffed, unconvinced. Annoyance quickly filled Draco. "Why do you hate my guts then?"

It was his turn to roll his eyes then he sighed in frustration, "Listen, it's nothing personal but we never really got along in Hogwarts and the habit kind of stuck."

She buffed her nails as she cocked another brow. _Lame. _She thought.

"Okay, okay. That was lame. To be honest, Granger, I was starting to have some respect for you over the years."

She looked at him with pure shock, it was insulting. He sighed again and continued.

"It's just that before, I had a name to uphold. My _father's_. All I knew was how to be evil and dark. That's how I was built up into but you see it's not what I wanted. It's only recently that I have started coming…wait a minute! Why am I explaining to you? _You're _the one who loathe me with gusto. Why not _do _the explaining?"

Hermione poised to talk balk all the furious things she was feeling but found nothing. _Why do I hate him? _She thought. Her angry face turned that into complete puzzlement.

He tapped his foot, "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" he said impatiently. _Damn Granger. Always thinks highly of herself. She's probably rehearsing all the things she hates about me again and again. _

She blinked at him and frowned, "You know what? I don't really know why."

He mentally slapped his head, "All that hate for _nothing?"_

She shrugged. "School was school. You didn't matter anyway. I had other things to think about at that time than loathe you."

Draco almost collapsed from outrage. _This is insulting! _"I didn't matter?" he fumed. He started stringing out profanities under his breath.

"I guess, now that everything's almost in order, there really is no reason to hate you." She mused.

He was about to retort when the door opened and a pair of surprised green eyes stared at them.

"What's going on? I didn't know you were dropping by 'Mione…oh and what are you doing here _Malfoy." _Came from a very appalled Harry Potter.

The two looked at him with shock and quickly changed disposition. Clearly fighting in front of the doorstep wasn't very newlywed like.

"Um. Hi Harry, we were just…ah." Hermione stumbled with words for once. Good thing Draco was faster.

"Greetings, Potter. We were in the neighborhood and we thought we'd drop by." Draco said coolly. Harry looked at him suspiciously after hearing the 'we' part.

Draco ignored him, "Isn't that right, _dearest?_" _The look on Potter's face is priceless at least. Hey, anything to make the most of the situation. _He thought.

Harry was taken aback. _Dearest? What the hell?!_

Hermione looked shocked as well but because of Draco's side dagger looks she instantly played along. "Yes, _dear._ Oh Harry, I'm sorry to drop by without warning." She said apologetically.

Harry still shocked, moved aside so the visitors could come in. "It's… okay… come in, come in." he said in a confused voice.

The visitors nodded then proceeded to enter Harry's house. Harry led them into his living room.

"Hermione Granger –," Harry started.

"_Malfoy." _Draco corrected with a smirk. _Ha! Potter must really hate me more now. _

Harry rolled his eyes and continued, "Hermione _Malfoy _you have some serious explaining to do. First of all marrying _him? _No offense Malfoy." He glanced at Draco and he waved him off.

"None taken." Draco said, very amused.

"And secondly, not inviting me to the wedding? I mean, what did he do, threaten you or something?"

Hermione looked uneasy then sighed. She wanted to tell the truth but she knows it's not possible at the moment and they were wasting precious time here.

"Harry, Draco and I have been aurors for quite some time, you know that. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you this but well, we worked on some cases together and well…" she looked at Draco for help.

"We realized that we made a great team. Seeing our success, we got involved together in more cases and eventually we were getting involved _with _each other." Draco continued matter-of-factly. _Eat that up, Potter. _

"You seriously want me to believe that you guys _fell _in love with each other?" Harry barked.

"I thought at this time and age that we were past all the grievances, Potter. What's so hard to believe? Hermione is an intelligent, skilled, witty and successful witch, not to mention, a very hot witch." _Well it is true. Granger was hot in her own way and being an auror made her doubly hot. I'll give her that._

"Who wouldn't fall in love with that?" he tried to add as convincingly as he could. _The sooner we're done here, the faster we can get back on the case._

Hermione looked at Draco's wistful look with a mixed expression of shock and awe. Harry only looked even more appalled.

Draco threw a smirk at Harry and glanced back at Hermione, reached out and touched her cheek 't_o add more icing to the cake Potter's going to have to swallow'._

"Isn't that right, dearest?" Draco purred.

Hermione only blushed in response. Draco looked at Harry and frowned, "What, don't you think so too, Potter?"

Harry glowered, "Of course I do. Hermione's a brilliant witch and she's too good for you."

Draco chuckled, "That might be true, but still, we got hitched so she must like me at some level."

"Fine." Harry sighed, "So when were you married and why wasn't I invited?"

Hermione looked at Harry apologetically, "I'm sorry Harry. We just kind of…erhm… eloped."

Again, Harry's eyes bulged, "You _what_?!"

"It was a spur of the moment thing – it was actually _romantic." _Hermione sighed. _Please take the bait already, we really do need to leave now._

"Yes. It was very romantic. I love her, she loves me. The opportunity presented itself, why wait a moment more?" Draco added.

"Okay, okay. Fine, I believe you!" Harry sighed in defeat. The two grinned in success.

"Oh but Harry, do you mind not telling anyone for now?" Hermione requested.

"Why?"

"Well, we were planning on having another wedding in the near future… so I don't think we need to shock anyone else until then."

"Am I invited?"

"Sure, sure Potter." Draco answered for her.

"That'll do I guess. Okay, I won't tell. But this is really hard to believe but I guess a lot has changed."

"You have no idea." Hermione muttered.

Harry changed the topic, "Hey, being aurors I'm sure you've heard about how seventeen year old wizards have been dropping like flies lately. Any news on the matter?"

Hermione sneaked a glance at Draco and he touched Hermione's hand, gave it a squeeze to give the impression to stay calm.

"Yes. We have heard of it. But right now, looking at the cause of deaths, they seem accidental, don't you think?" Draco said casually.

Harry thought for a minute, "Yes. I 'spose. Do you reckon that they're really just accidents? The timing is too suspicious…"

"Very perceptive, Potter. But until we know for sure, we're still not ruling out accidental deaths."

"Are you two on the case?" Harry asked suspicious again.

Hermione shook her head, "Well, we're on our… honeymoon… so we're on leave at the moment."

"Oh! How thick of me, 'course you are. Sorry, things have been too quiet here."

"Don't worry, school is starting soon." Hermione consoled.

"That's right, still on the teaching squad, Potter?" Draco asked.

"You bet."

"Oh Harry, I've been meaning to ask this for a long time. Do you still have your copy of Gashlycrumb Tinies? My niece has recently discovered that goth was her thing and that book seems perfect." Hermione asked.

Draco looked at her praising. _Nice, we can get the friggin' out of here. _

"Sure. You can have it." Harry raised his wand, "_Accio Gashlycrumb!" _and a battered book flew to his hand. He handed it to Hermione.

_Yes. _"Thanks Harry. Oh, how's Ginny by the way?" she was referring to Harry's fiancée.

"She's with her parents for the weekend." Harry beamed proudly.

"I see."

Draco coughed then looked at Hermione, "Dear, we're running a little late…"

Hermione blinked, "Oh! Oh right, sorry Harry, Draco and I need to go now."

"It's okay. Do drop by soon."

* * *

"That was…" Hermione started,

"Excruciating." Draco finished. She cringed, "Tell me about it."

"But amusing, nonetheless." Draco said thoughtful.

"You were very convincing back there…" Hermione said ruefully.

"Don't flatter yourself, if that's where you're getting at." He snapped at her.

"I wasn't going to." Hermione smirked then muttered, "bloody prick."

"I heard that."

"So where to?"

"How about going back to my place and we'll take a look at that book?" Draco offered.

Hermione looked hesitant, "Is your mum there?"

Draco smirked again, "Not that it's your business, but my mother's in Russia on vacation."

She nodded, "Good enough. Let's go then."

"We're going to have to side-apparate."

"Not a problem."

Draco sighed then grabbed Hermione's shoulder and with a pop, they were inside the infamous Malfoy Manor.

"I must say, you have a lovely place." Hermione admitted.

"Of course we do now come with me."

Draco led Hermione to his very large room decorated in all shades of green. They sat down near a black coffee table in the middle of the room.

Draco flipped through the book, "Ghastly. Very ghastly. We need to move fast or we'll be seeing more blood out there."

"I know what you mean. Look at _Kate_! Poor Kate…"

"She's the one who got run down with an axe?"

She nodded grimly and Draco shuddered.

"So Granger, if you were working alone on this case, what would be your plan of action?"

Hermione looked up and thought for a while and said slowly, "Hmmm… well, I'd go back to all the scenes of the crime… search for clues… then do some research…"

He nodded at her thoughtfully, "I would have done the same but I'll probably add a few dark spells here and there… added precaution…"

"I see. So where should we go first? Start with Amy or George?"

"Definitely the most recent."

"George then."

Hermione's forehead wrinkled and she let out a deep breath.

Draco eyed her, "What's on your mind?"

Hermione looked at him and frowned, "Its just… it's hard to think things through when you know that someone named _Hector _is probably going along business unusual not knowing he's been condemned to die soon."

Draco patted her shoulder, "I know what you mean. But we'll get the bastard whose doing this – I swear it."

So they got up and apparated from the room completely oblivious to the lurking danger that stalked the dark alleyway not far from Malfoy Manor.

_This is going to be more exciting. _Thought the shadow that watched as his next victim was quietly reading a book as the two aurors sent to kill him passed by him.

Licking his lips from uncontrollable glee, he sneered.

"_Prepare yourself Hector. You're next."

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**AN: Oh, I've finally updated! Yes! I'm sorry for those who've read this before but I was too caught up with my other stories (All Twilight) that I forgot that I still had to put this up somehow. I was happy that I found this chapter typed up almost finished months ago so I decided to finish it and post it.**

**So there you have it. Please do review and I'll update when I have time. Thank you!**

_**Margaux**_


	4. HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE

**Dear Readers,**

**First of all, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for not being able to update my stories. Being a college senior is hard and we had numerous consecutive sleepless nights doing our research work. Our proposed study would be the effect of humor therapy on young adult cancer patients. It's really eaten up most of our time and add to this would be my on-the-job training in a guidance and counseling department (100 hours). And now, here in the Philippines, we are facing a crisis recently, which is the onslaught of the typhoon Ketsana (local name Ondoy). We were among the fortunate yet affected ones. And now we're busy with helping our friends, classmates, schoolmates, family, and other people. Our school is busy organizing relief centers and donation drives. Being one of the student leaders, I'm doing my part by spreading the word getting contacts outside (I wasn't allowed to go out so sending donations and information dissemination is all I could do for now. As soon as I get the go signal, I'll try to run over our university and help.)**

**If you want to help, I've posted links and contact number you can go use on my twitter account. Follow me at margz29 (twitter account link is also on my homepage). Help no matter how small is greatly appreciated. Just by spreading the news, you're already contributing a lot.**

**Hope to hear from you guys soon… and I'll try to update as soon as I can.**

**Much love,**

**Margaux**


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